In U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,949,019, issued Aug. 16, 1960; 3,465,537, issued Sept. 9, 1969; 3,559,424, issued Feb. 2, 1971, and reissue Pat. No. Re. 26,101, issued Oct. 11, 1966, all of which patents are assigned to the assignee of the present application, various types of ice making machines are disclosed for producing ice cubes or the like and comprising a plurality of generally inverted ice cube cups or molds adapted to have water sprayed therewithin by means of a water spraying device. Disposed adjacent the ice cube molds is a water holding tank or platen to which water may be supplied along to supplement the hot gas defrost during the harvest portion of the operational cycle of the machine, whereby to effect release of the ice cubes which were formed within the molds during the preceding freezing portion of the cycle. The ice cubes are adapted to drop downwardly into a chute or storage bin to which access may be had through a suitable access opening or the like. After the ice cubes have thus been formed and released, the thawing water is transferred to a water sump wherein the water may be used as make-up water for the next freezing portion of the cycle.
The present invention is generally related to an ice making machine of the above-described type and features a number of improvements over the machines shown in said patents. In particular, the ice making machine of the present invention incorporates a novel spray bar arrangement wherein the spray bar is mounted for 360.degree. rotation about a generally horizontal axis disposed between the underside of the ice cube forming molds and the upper surface of the water sump containing the make-up water for future ice batches. With this arrangement, a number of advantages are provided over various types of prior art machines, particularly insofar as simplifying the relatively complicated oscillatory drive mechanisms incorporated with oscillatory-type spray bars used in prior art machines. Another advantage provided by the 360.degree. rotational movement of the spray bar resides in the fact that the spray bar is not only adapted to direct water upwardly toward the underside of the ice forming molds or cups, but is also adapted to spray water downwardly toward the water reservoir or sump located therebelow. Such action of the water being sprayed into the sump causes circulation or agitation of the water so as to prevent the settling of any sediment or other impurities which otherwise might tend to accumulate within the sump.
Another feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the spray bar may be provided with two or more rows of longitudinally extending spray nozzles, whereby when one row of nozzles is directing water upwardly toward the ice molds, the other row or rows of nozzles may be spraying water toward the sump, and vice versa. This particular arrangement provides yet another feature of the present invention wherein the operational life of the machine may be significantly extended. In particular, due to the normal existence of sediment and impurities within the make-up water, it is frequently the case that the spray nozzles become partially or completely clogged, resulting in a certain number of the ice forming molds not being supplied with the requisite amount of water during the ice forming cycle or operation. By providing multiple rows or nozzles on the spray bar, even though one or more of the nozzles becomes completely or partially inoperative, the other nozzle or nozzles which are generally axially aligned with the inoperative nozzle will supply the needed water during the ice forming process. Thus, service life of the ice making machine of the present invention may be considerably extended.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ice making machine.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ice making machine of the rotating spray bar-type, wherein the spray bar is rotational about 360.degree. instead of being oscillatory, as in prior art designs, and thereby eliminates the need for complicated spray bar oscillating mechanisms.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide a new and improved spray bar-type ice making machine wherein the spray bar is rotatable 360.degree. about a generally horizontal axis and is thereby adapted to spray water upwardly toward associated ice forming molds and downwardly toward an associated water sump to cause agitation of the make-up water within the sump.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotatable spray bar-type ice making machine which includes multiple spray nozzles so as to extend the service life of the machine in the event one or more of the nozzles becomes temporarily inoperative due to clogging from water sediment, etc.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ice making machine of the above-described type which includes a novel means for mounting the spray bar within the machine so as to compensate for manufacturing tolerance variations.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
______________________________________ PERTINENT PRIOR ART U.S. Pat. Nos. Inventor Issued ______________________________________ 2,542,892 Bayston 2/20/51 2,732,690 Henderson 1/31/56 2,949,019 Roberts 8/16/60 2,677,249 Mason 5/04/54 2,978,882 Bollefer 4/11/61 3,043,117 Bollefer 7/10/62 3,220,214 Cornelius 11/30/65 3,407,621 Dedricks et al 10/29/68 3,465,537 Nelson 9/09/69 3,559,424 Nelson 2/02/71 3,791,163 Dickson et al 2/12/74 3,908,390 Dickson et al 9/30/75 Re. 26,101 Nelson 10/11/66 ______________________________________